Voting for the ‘Undiscovered Country’?
Today, over 14 million Lankan voters get to elect a new government. They can also pick from among 7,620 candidates vying for 225 seats in the national legislature. The election campaigns for…
Year: 2010
Lashkar-e-Taiba in Sri Lanka?
This is in response to a news item titled “US says Lashkar in Lanka” published in the on 27 march 2010. Citing a PTI report Admiral Robert Willard, Commander of the US…
A choiceless election to elect a lumpenised parliament
This general election would bring about a parliament with a clear majority. Few if at all, would dispute that. While there is also talk of a two-thirds majority in parliament for President’s…
Doing It in a Foreign Language
In Jumma: The last bastion of the boys, (, 26 March 2010) Nazeeya Faarooq wrote: “…most of the Jumma sermons are totally irrelevant. Firstly they are given in a language they don’t…
April 8: The best case scenario
The government wants a two thirds majority in order to replace the Constitution, it says. The UNP opposition hopes to form a coalition with other Opposition parties. It would be unhealthy for…
Confusing reportage over comments by the President: Propaganda or fact?
. The version on , published on 3 April, attributed contentious comments, outrageously derogatory towards the Tamil community, to the President in a rally held in Jaffna on 1st April. Two audio…
Black Paintings & Other Works: An exhibition by Chandraguptha Thenuwara
Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s “Black Paintings & Other Works-an exhibition of paintings and installation” was inaugurated today (3 April 2010) at the Lionel Wendt Gallery, Colombo. The exhibition will continue till 5 April 2010.…
Baby 81: 6 years after the tsunami
~Henry Graham Greene (October 2,1904- April 3,1991). Novelist, Playwright and short story writer Abhilash Jeyaraj who is usually very shy to meet visitors waits with his mother Junita Jeyaraj at their gate.…
Akon and Buddhism in Sri Lanka: A Response to Bhikkhu K. Tanchangya
[] I wrote “Akon and Buddhism in Sri Lanka” exclusively for Groundviews, a prominent citizen journalism website in Sri Lanka. I expressed my opinion on the “Akon issue” as a citizen of…
Interview with Ranil Wickremasinghe, Leader of the Opposition in Sri Lanka
Ranil Wickremasinghe is the Leader of the Opposition in Sri Lanka, party leader of the United National Party (UNP) since 1994 and for the up-coming parliamentary elections, head of the United National…
HAS MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA BEEN A TRAITOR TO SRI LANKA?
What is the definition of a traitor? A traitor is usually defined as someone who betrays his or her country. But this definition leaves out the question of , exactly, constitutes betrayal. Recently,…
Parliamentary Elections, April 2010: An opportunity for voters in the North and East
I remember visiting Jaffna in 1997. Local government elections were due. Several leading political figures had been assassinated in the preceding years, some by the LTTE, others by anti-LTTE groups. In the…
Justice Our Way
Intervening in the controversy over the teaching of English ‘our way’, retired Senior DIG Edward Gunawardena wrote a satirical letter to of March 27, 2010, which concluded: “So Sir, let us appreciate…
Putting cuts, part-putting and pol symbol
I have always had a fascination for Sri Lankan English. In fact, Sri Lankans use English the way the British used Ceylonese in subjugating them to their will. Now that the good…
Did the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) hand over the North to LTTE?
To one Mr. N. Ethirveerasingam, on a comment he made on an article I wrote ( will agree to publish it.” This article is the fulfilling of my promise to him. Since…
